Another day, another win
Monday, April 13, 2009 at 11:01PM The Spurs U19's are at it again. Beat Barcelona in the semi-finals of the 'Torneo Internazionale' in Bellinzona, Switzerland 1-0 and today defeated Sporting Lisbon 2-1 in the final.
Bostock, Obika and Townsend didn't travel (the latter two are currently out on loan) and we've included four U16 players in the squad (make a mental note of some of these kids...one or two will hopefully make the grade):
Jansson, Ranieri, Carroll, Durojaiye, Oyenuga, Kane, Cox, Butcher, Smith, Kasim, Mason, Waller Lassen, Parrett, Ekim, Caulker, O'Neill, Byrne, Nicholson.
Splendid work by Alex Inglethorpe. Over the past year or so we've performed superbly in the tournaments we've competed in at youth levels.
Whether they avoid the black hole between the academy and reserve team football is something Inglethorpe and the club have to work hard at. We’ve desperately lacked the presence of academy promotions in recent years. Everyone knows youth players who excel don’t always go on to bigger and better things. And to see 4 or 5 of them making the grade is a rarity. Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United have been prolific for some time now. It’s good to see a foundation finally being built at Spurs.
And equally good to see a winning mentality birthed from the academy upwards. Keep their feet firmly on the ground, emphasis on development and guidance and we might just avoid having to fork out £15M for the ‘next big thing’ a few years from now, because we’ve got a couple of them already in our ranks.
Reader Comments (5)
'make a mental note of some of these kids...one or two will hopefully make the grade'
Well done lads, and It would be fantastic to have a young Nicholson back in the team.
Barca took several 'underage' players also with their squad, not that it should take the gloss away from our wins. We've got some very decent young players but I'm worried that when they get older they will either be sold or loaned out and then sold. Some of the kids who are in the lower leagues at the moment won't all return to Spurs as potential first teams players. The culture of buying at Spurs is such that when you spend £10M-£15M on a player it's unlikey you'll going to drop him for an academy player promoted through the ranks - unless that player is special.
And we haven't seen anything special for a while.
Do still think Obika, Townsend, Bostock, Parratt will get a chance to prove their worth.
We have a cracking record in these compeitions, always seem to get to the semi-final or beyond and think we've only lost the one final so far.
Congrats to the boys and to Alex.
The players mentioned by Oracle are the ones I fancy to do well. The French guy, out on loan to Southend might also be one to keep track off. Been unlucky with injuries.
-Dave
It's also great to see that the majority of them are local lads too, brilliant.